Filed under Denim, History Previous Why Jeans? Feb 18, 2012 Arrow Thin Left Icon Map of Genoa Fade February Fact #18: The word ‘jeans’ is derived from the French phrase ‘bleu de Genes’ . The literal translation for that is ‘the blue of Genoa’, and with time was shortened to what we now know as ‘jeans’! Now you know ‘why jeans?’.